On February 11, the world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an important occasion to recognize the fundamental contribution of women to scientific and technological research and to reaffirm the value of inclusion as a driver of innovation.
On this occasion, ICSC – Italian Research Centre on HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing renews its commitment to promoting an open and equitable science capable of valuing all talents, without gender distinction.
Women have always played a central role in the advancement of scientific knowledge, often facing cultural and structural barriers that have limited full recognition of their work. Despite the progress achieved, the gender gap in STEM disciplines remains a current challenge, particularly in high-tech sectors such as HPC, Big Data, and Quantum Computing.
Promoting greater female participation in science means strengthening the quality of research itself: diversity of skills, experiences, and perspectives is a key factor in addressing complex problems and generating more innovative solutions.
Gender equality is one of the priorities of the ICSC as also established among the cross-cutting objectives of its PNRR mandate. To fulfill this mission, ICSC, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of University and Research, supports research, training, and communication initiatives aimed at raising awareness among younger generations about STEM fields and encouraging them to pursue scientific careers.
Celebrating this day means looking to the future, investing in education, and building an increasingly inclusive research ecosystem. In this context, the initiative “Femminile plurale. Careers in Artificial Intelligence”, scheduled for February 11, represents a dedicated moment of discussion on women’s professional pathways in the field of AI.
An opportunity to explore crucial issues related to skills, opportunities, and the challenges facing new generations, contributing to making science an ever more open, representative, and fully expressive space of its potential.
